There's certainly an argument to be made that even the absolute worst places on Earth to try to establish a settlement (Sahara desert, Antarctica, Mariana Trenc

There's certainly an argument to be made that even the absolute worst places on Earth to try to establish a settlement (Sahara desert, Antarctica, Mariana Trench, top of Everest) are all orders of magnitude less challenging than going to Mars, which is in turn orders of magnitude easier than leaving the solar system. But it still isn't a reason not to try, especially now. Elon isn't wrong about the possibility of the window closing, especially in various future scenarios where climate change and war disrupt global supply chains.